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2009 F650GS won't start

A few weeks ago, my wife's 2009 F650GS wouldn't start after a lunch about 150 miles from home. Since the bike is now out of warranty, I had to find a trailer to tow it to the nearest dealer about another 110 miles away. The dealer replaced the fuel pressure sensor, fuel injectors and fuel pump (parts were "generously" provided by Motorrad, but we had to pay for installation). The bike started well when I picked it up, but on a ride of about another 100 miles a few days later (yesterday), the bike started up but idled roughly. We immediately returned home and this afernoon when I tried to start the bike, it exhibited the same problem, i.e., it would crank, but wouldn't fire up. If I open the throttle, it will crank faster, but still won't fire. Any one have an idea what the problem could be??

Part of my problem is that there is no BMW dealer in Wyoming, so I will have to borrow a trailer again to tow the bike to the nearest dealer in Colorado who worked on it the first time, but I would like to know if there is something I can say to the mechanics to get this thing fixed. I know there are a plethora of problems surrounding the fuel delivery components because I have had the fuel injectors replaced twice on my 2010 F650GS and I suspect the problem was starting to show up on a 2009 R1200GS that I sold, which I feel bad about because I didn't realize the injectors were experiencing early failure, otherwise, I would have had the problem corrected before I sold the R12GS. I thought it was just a bad tankful of gas that was causing the problem. The bike was bought by a Canadian and I hope Motorrad Canada honored the warranty, if in fact the injectors were bad.

Any advice about other potential problems that could be causing the failure to fire would be greatly appreciated.

If it has the original battery...check the voltage, then check the voltage while cranking, then fully charge the battery and try a start. Problems of a draw-down of voltage from the starter draw have caused similar problems. Good luck. OM

"I bought a ticket to the circus, I don't know why I was so surprised to see elephants" Norris Church MailerMod Squad
2009 F800GS 1994 TW200

I keep the bike on the BMW Canbus charger pretty much all the time it is in the garage and it sounds, from the starter cranking, that it has plenty of juice. But I'll mention it to dealer's service manager when I talk to him about the recurrence of the problem.

I'm having the same problem with a 800ST in Ft. Collins. Are you going to Denver or Loveland? Loveland has replaced injectors twice in a year and a couple hundred miles and it again fails to start. They can come pick it up this week but I'm considering taking it to another dealer in Denver.

I took it the first time to Loveland, and will probably do it again since they are familiar with the problem, tho' maybe not with the solution. It was they who also replaced the injectors twice on another bike of mine. The premature failure of the injectors on F and R series bikes is a consistent issue and has maybe conditioned mechanics to assume automatically that the injectors are always the source of the problem. I guess we'll have to think outside the box to find a solution for this, and any future, bike they get with the same problem. Good luck with your efforts.

Thanks Jimbob. Great reading indeed. My experience so far appears to be BMW failing to recognize a deficiency in the design of the injectors (according to the local dealer). I'm seriously considering selling the bike after this event.

I'm blessed with being able to ride all year long and the gas does not sit long and I use Techron on almost every tank when I'm not on a road trip - it seems that most folks in my category are not having nearly as much trouble as "seasonal" / "intermittent" riders.

I do think the fuel system is not as "ethanol hardened" as it could be ....

I'd really like to know if the "new" F700GS/F800GS models have upgraded fuel system components.

The dealer that's replaced the injectors three previous times is coming to pick up the bike today. I tried to make the point as politely as possible that I don't want it back until a defenitive cause is found besides "bad injectors again".
I'm hoping another issue is discovered this time around.

Until you start using better quality fuel, don't expect this problem to go away permanently.. Use non-ethanol fuel if possible. And add Techron to help protect your fuel system. It doesn't take much corrosion to plug the tiny holes in your injectors. Those tiny holes help the engine perform better, but they sure don't get along with gasoline sold in the US.

Exactly what the dealer says. Like I told him: I own three other bikes and two cars, all of which are fuel injected and fueled at the same place. None exhibit any kind of issue. I have and continue to add Techron (on all three sets of injectors). BMW continues to replace the injectors under warranty indicating to me they recognize the problem but have yet to find a soloution (new design). A opinion shared by the service manager but, as he states, "my hands are tied until BMW comes up with something".

63K on my 2009 F650GS Twin. While in Saint Mary's Pennsylvania, the bike flat out died while riding in town 1st gear. Would not start again. Saturday afternoon. Needless to say, plan A,B,C had to be put in place and on Tuesday, took bike in to Two-Jacks BMW in Scranton, Pa. They diagnosed it as a fuel pump and I got the bike back Wednesday noon. Many thanks to Two-Jacks for fitting me in to their busy schedule, and for selling me the extended warranty that covered the cost.

I had the same thing happen to me with my wife's F650GS. BMW of Denver finally figured out a means for clearing the injectors, seemingly perfectly, as I haven't had it happen since. Western, hight altitude fuel seems to be the culprit, and in many places out ear it is impossible to find non-ethanol fuel.

lots of luck, as this is truly a frustrating problem with these bikes and one would think that an Austrian engine manufacturer would have had this figured out. Perhaps their fuel is consistently better than ours.